Warning!
This story contains strong language, upsetting themes {death, terminal illnesses, emotional backstories etc.}, angst, certain pairings, mild romance and drama. If you feel that something here should be addressed more tentatively, please message me and I will take your comments into consideration. Thank you.

A/N;
This is my first Hetalia fanfic, and I decided to start it off with something that's been brewing up in my mind for the last few days. I spoke to my friend about it, and she thought it was a cool plot, and she'll be helping me with this a lot. Please leave a review giving me your thoughts about it and whether you think I should continue or not.

Disclaimer;
I do not own Hetalia nor do I own any of the characters in Hetalia either. In no way does this fanfiction actually represent the real countries. It is AU, so everything written here is purely for fiction and nothing else.

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Prologue I

What is there to say, really, about the city hospital? It stands on the 'border' - as some would call it - between suburbia - where perfectly normal people go about their perfectly normal lives - and town - the jewel of any city where youngsters can get as drunk as they want without old, crabby folk shouting out of their front door dressed in creased pyjamas and night-gowns. With its plain, white-washed walls, the usual jam-packed car park, and reception area, complete with large windows so you can see the bright downtown lights glittering like unnatural gems in the distance, it clearly looks like an ordinary hospital. Truth be told; it is an ordinary hospital.

Many people make small-talk with strangers, discussing how convenient the position of the building is; being somewhat close to the motorway, the ambulances rarely have far to go if there's a car accident, and on the outskirts of those long streets, chock-a-block with houses just waiting for a disaster to happen. Who knows? Perhaps a heart-attack or a broken arm from missing a step whilst rushing down the stairs. It could be anything, and the hospital is just a half-mile away. Thanks to the railway being close by too – of course, this is where sober teens board the train, gossiping and gaggling about having a great night out, and come off drunk, disorientated and barfing their brains out – it's easy for people to hop onto the tracks {clearly not literally; you'd probably get run over} and make their way to the prestigious building if they ever get that dreaded phone call at work; "I'm sorry, sir, but there appears to have been an accident involving your son –"

This is all in a day's work for the hospital and the staff who work there. They arrive early, dismissing the night-nurses and A&E crews, and greeting the patients from the previous day with warm smiles and a plate full of breakfast. Normally, when you visit, there's a cheerful lady at the reception, waiting to take your name or direct you down the right corridor, and a kindly doctor who lays you down on a bed and quickly inspects that nasty cut that you got from falling in a ditch the other day.

As much as this story is centred around the staff and indeed, the hospital itself, there are many other aspects of it too, though. Like I said earlier, this is an ordinary hospital, in an ordinary environment with ordinary surroundings. But, let me tell you now; the people who dwell inside this hospital are definitely not ordinary.

An easy place to start would be the doctors themselves; you, as the reader, might imagine that these are the most casual people in the world. You only ever see the bright side of them, when they look at you across the desk, nodding with understanding as you express your medical fears and worries to them, and it would be impossible for you or me to tell what darkness really lies beneath their calm, impassive expressions whilst they hand you a prescription or type up your details on a computer. Though, I think that we should all take into account that these strange beings clad in white coats, seemingly perfect and god-like, are humans too.

Just like us, they go home exasperated and clutching their temples as they struggle to comprehend the difficult thoughts that secluded their mind that day. Just like us, they find it hard to wake up in the mornings when the alarm goes off, and even harder to take those first few steps out of the steaming shower, wrapped loosely in a towel whilst stifling a yawn. And, just like us, they enjoy laughter, friendship and having the ability to empathise with people who find such things a mystery or a blessing.

Perhaps, the first person to bring our attention to should be Doctor Beilschmidt, as he is one of the doctors who completely disregards my previous explanation about human beings and seems to have his own course of life. Instead of hanging on troublesome thoughts as he drives home, he just doesn't think at all. Well, he does think, but it's mainly about the road in front of him otherwise he would most certainly crash. Instead of spending most of his morning relishing the delicious warmth of the shower, he somehow manages to rush through an icy torrent of freezing water as slick as a sharpened knife cutting through butter.

And lastly, instead of enjoying the joyous sounds of children laughing, he blocks it out, finding it a distraction and nuisance to his work. But, let me tell you now; this tall, buff-looking man with the freshly combed hair and piercing gaze is not someone whom you might refer to as "cold" or "callous." He is a doctor after all, and he does have to deal with problems, so, don't just assume that he's a terrible person whom everyone dreads to meet in dark alley, because there is far, far more to Doctor Beilschmidt that you would originally think.

Moving onwards, I feel it is necessary to address Doctor Carriedo next. A loving man with a passion for passion itself, he is laid-back and cheerful, never without a smile plastered on his face. Much unlike his co-worked, Ludwig {whom you know as Doctor Beilschmidt} Doctor Carriedo, more commonly known as Antonio, or Toni for short, isn't afraid to embrace expression and emotion with a great bear-hug and a cheesy grin. I guess the only thing that these two would ever have in common is the fact that they are treating to same person, but that is yet to be discussed.

Ah yes - now for the second Doctor Beilschmidt. Perhaps I should have mentioned this doctor first, as he is often referred to as Doctor Beilschmidt, unlike his younger brother who is called Doctor Ludwig instead to avoid confusion. Some consider it unlucky to be in the same workplace as a sibling {in fact, I hadn't noticed it before, but there are many siblings who work together in this hospital}, even though Doctor Beilschmidt finds it both amusing and intriguing. From this, he gauges a lot about his brother's behaviour and finds it easier to irritate him by pointing out his flaws and mistakes constantly.

Of course, that's what Doctor Beilschmidt does; he finds that his main role in life is to piss people off. Especially Doctor Ludwig. It's not very professional considering the workplace he's been stationed in, but at least he has the correct qualifications and knows the difference between patients and his little brother. Doctor Beilschmidt's appearance has always been rather odd; his unnaturally pale skin and tone and hair colour is one thing, but his eyes are another matter entirely.

He suffers {well, I wouldn't say he suffers from it} from an eye discolouration known as vertical heterochromia iridium. In short, his eyes are a little bit weird looking. Some would argue that they have a light, pinkish hue, whilst others would disagree and insist that they were a maroon colour. Either way, the colours blending together in his eyes are certainly not common. However, the egotistical young man pays no heed to his odd appearance, as not many people ever challenge or bother him about it, maybe due to the fact that it looks like he could kill them if he wanted to.

And last, but most certainly not least, is the man with the charming smile that could literally melt your heart, and the eyes that young nurses refer to as "simply gorgeous." The one – the only, Doctor Bonnefoy! Seems like a massive run-up to a fat piece of nothing, doesn't it? Many rumours spread like wild-fire around the hospital about him having inappropriate and illegal relationships with female patients, but I assure you, none of them are true in the slightest. He may have had multiple relationships in the past, but even this lady-killer knows the difference between a flirtatious woman and a sickly patient; don't be fooled by his charisma and good looks – he may act like he'll pounce on anything that moves, but Doctor Bonnefoy is an extremely qualified physiatrist with an impeccably clean record. Well – partially clean.

I guess you could call those four the main doctors, obviously not out of the entire hospital thanks to their youth, but they are the main doctors for this particular story. Of course, there will be many more popping in and out, nurses and interns alike, but for now, we'll just stick with these three. Before we continue, I feel it best that you should be acquainted with their full names; Doctor Ludwig {I'm sure you should know this by now} is clearly Ludwig Beilschmidt, as his big brother is Gilbert Beilschmidt; then there's Doctor Francis Bonnefoy and finally, Doctor Carriedo would be known as Antonio Fernandez-Carriedo, although most of his patients just call him Doctor F.C to avoid mispronouncing his ridiculously long name.

Now, where to start, where to start..? The logical place to start would be at the beginning, as it's a very good place to start. The beginning it is then…

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A/N;
Thank you for reading!

All types of reviews are very much appreciated {especially critique}, and I want to know whether I should continue this or not.
Feel free to point out any grammatical or spelling errors – I feel like there are quite a lot hidden in this first chapter – and I'll try to correct them as soon as possible.